A horseshoe is a fabricated U-shaped plate attached to the bottom of a horse's hoof to provide greater traction. Depending on the type of work the horse is performing, horseshoes can protect the horse's hoof as well as the horse's muscles, bones and tendons from injury. Generally, a horseshoe is made out of metal, but they are available in a variety of materials and styles depending on their particular purpose or a horse's specific need. The horseshoe is typically nailed through the insensitive hoof wall, but may also be attached to the hoof via an adhesive. This tedious task is usually performed by a farrier (or blacksmith), who specializes in the preparation of feet, assessing potential lameness issues and fitting appropriate shoes.
Although horseshoes are used on a number of different breeds of horses, horseshoes are most commonly associated with thoroughbred horses, which are bred mainly for racing. As noted above, in addition to protection, horseshoes are often used to provide better traction for a horse, particularly a thoroughbred in racing or training conditions. Thoroughbred horses race, train and exercise on a number of different surfaces, such as dirt, grass and synthetic surfaces. Furthermore, thoroughbred horses race, train and exercise in different weather and track conditions, such as fast, firm, wet and muddy.
The particular surface and track condition as well as the individual horse's characteristics often dictate the type of horseshoe that will be used. For example, a plain horseshoe may be used in benign racing conditions, i.e., on a fast dirt track. On the other hand, a horseshoe may have a toe grab that extends downwardly at the toe of the horseshoe to provide additional traction for a horse in non-ideal track conditions. Of course, it should be appreciated that horseshoes come in a variety of different styles, such as corrective bar shoes and shoes with one of more calks or projections. Importantly, the various styles of horseshoes are typically manufactured in the condition for which they are used by the farrier, i.e., you cannot convert a plain horseshoe into a horseshoe having a toe grab without removing the first shoe from the horse's hoof and re-shodding the horse with a second shoe.
Depending on the horse's need for its training or racing schedule, a farrier in consultation with the horse's owner and trainer selects the desired shoe and fastens it to the horse's hoof. If the training or racing conditions change or the horse needs a different type of shoe for any reason, i.e., it needs a shoe with a toe grab rather than a plain shoe, the farrier must remove the original horseshoe and replace it (a process known as re-shodding), which can be a rigorous, time-consuming and expensive process. As discussed above, since the toe grab is soldered onto the horseshoe by the manufacturer of the horseshoe, the farrier must replace the entire shoe if a horse needs a horseshoe with a toe grab rather than a plain horseshoe.
Although re-shodding is often necessary, it creates a number of undesirable consequences. For example, re-shodding can be a time-consuming process to remove the old shoes and replace them with the new shoes and shoe changes are often demanded under strict time constraints, i.e., shortly before a race. Furthermore, there is an additional expense for the horse owner because a farrier must be paid to re-shod the horse. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, re-shodding increases the risk of injury to the horse's hoof from multiple shoe changes.
Accordingly, a need is identified for a more economical, versatile and efficient alternative to the one-piece horseshoe. Specifically, a need exists for a horseshoe that may be easily manipulated to change from a plain horseshoe to a horseshoe with a toe grab and vice-versa without the need for re-shodding. As a result, the time and expense of re-shodding a horse's shoes would be greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. Furthermore, a need exists for minimizing the risk of hoof-related injuries from multiple shoe changes.